According to a recent article by LiveScience, most cases of opioid abuse in teenagers began with prescription opioids from a doctor. The study cites that 85 percent of the surveyed group of teenagers that had abused both prescription and injection drugs said they abused prescription opioids, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, before moving to heroin an average of two years later.
Beyond the national scale, prescription drug abuse has become a domestic issue for the Sacramento region as well.

“OxyContin made its way [to the Sacramento region] maybe seven years ago,” said John Daily, founder and clinical director of Recovery Happens Counseling Services, in a recent Sac Magazine article. “Suddenly overnight half of our clients became opiate addicts.”

One reason for prescription opioid addicts switching to heroin and street opiates is the steep cost of OxyContin, Vicodin and other prescription painkillers.

“When Oxy became harder and harder to use, it became about easy access to heroin,” said Daily.

“The only time I ever saw [someone start using heroin after using prescription opioids] was somebody who did prescription painkillers every day and it got too expensive, essentially,” said resident August Garvin. “When people actually develop a legitimate addiction to prescription painkillers, it gets too pricey […] and [they] can’t get an excuse from the doctor anymore.”

Teenagers, at a hormonal and emotionally turbulent time in life, can sometimes see drugs as a solution to their problems.

“I was depressed […] so I think I was lashing out,” said Zoe Sanchez. “That was what made me experiment with [nonmedical use of prescription opioids].”

The danger also extends beyond just that of opiate use. According to a Sacramento Health and Human Services Public Health Warning, a dozen overdoses from an opioid called fentanyl were reported in Sacramento county within the timespan of approximately two days leading up to March 25th, 2016. The report describes fentanyl as “odorless and colorless”, and links the cases of overdose to the lacing of fentanyl with street tablets of Norco, a popular prescription opioid and an easy street marketing target for patients addicted to prescription Norco or other opioids.

While not all prescriptions result in addiction, caution should always be used with prescription opioids, and street-sold painkillers should be avoided at all costs. The road to heroin is not brightly lit, though unfortunately it seems to be well-traveled.

Even though 45 percent of Americans have one or more chronic conditions that require medication, one in three people never fill their prescriptions and three out of four don’t take their medications as directed, costing Americans $290 billion each year and causing life-threatening health problems.

In an effort to help remove barriers to medication adherence and improve health outcomes for multicultural senior citizens, Script Your Future Sacramento and the American Heart Association is conducting Spanish-language educational presentations and free health screenings for Manitos, a Latino senior citizens’ club.

“Heart disease and stroke are our number one and number 3 killers,” said Valerie Scruggs, Health Equity Director for the American Heart Association’s Sacramento Office. “With education and medication adherence people can manage and often even prevent heart attacks and strokes.”

WHO:Script Your Future and the American Heart Association host this week’s Manitos meeting of Latino seniors.

WHAT: Presentations on the importance of taking medicine as directed, as well as preventing cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. The event will be conducted in Spanish. Spanish-speaking spokespersons available.

California Northstate University College of Pharmacy, Health Net Community Solutions, and Woodland Health Care will provide free medication consultations, blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes screenings, kicking off a series of Script Your Future activities scheduled for this May, which is Older Americans Month. The American Heart Association will also provide a heart-healthy cooking demonstration by Chef Arturo Vargas. The California Office of the Patient Advocate, California Poison Control System, Area 4 Agency on Aging, Community Health Navigators, Novartis, and others will be on hand with information and resources.

“Our priority is education about the importance of taking medication as directed because we know that this is the best way to manage chronic conditions and stay healthy,” said Script Your Future Sacramento Field Organizer Elaine Linn. “We are marking our first anniversary by reaching out to diverse communities and senior citizens – those most at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory illnesses.”

The event is part of the Script Your Future nationwide campaign led by the National Consumers League and supported by more than 110 private and public partners. Sacramento is one of six cities throughout the U.S. where more than 40 local organizations are partnering to raise awareness about the importance of medication adherence. This event is sponsored by Health Net Community Solutions, PhRMA, Lilly, and Novartis.

The Script Your Future campaign was launched in 2011 by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin in Washington, D.C., and locally by former Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Glennah Trochet. Information about the campaign is available at www.scriptyourfuture.org.